A 28-year-old woman spent £9,000 on a secret facelift she ‘didn’t need’ as she was desperate to get the ‘cat eye look of Bella Hadid’.
Antonia Higham first started getting cosmetic procedures when she was 18 and quickly became ‘addicted’ to getting filler. By the age of 21, she had undergone a £9,500 nose job later followed by an £8,000 breast augmentation.
In March, Antonia jetted off to Turkey and splashed out £9,000 on a facelift and lip lift to mimic the ‘cat-eye’ look of supermodel Bella Hadid, despite doctors advising her against the procedure.
While she endured cruel comments from online trolls and was stared at in the street, the London-based drama student said she is happy with the results of the surgery.
Despite feeling that she ‘didn’t need the facelift’, she made the decision to go ahead with the procedure as she believed it would ‘make me happy’.
‘I started getting lip filler when I was 18, it became addictive. I just wanted more and more. I had my first surgery at 21, which was a nose job. I was bullied at school for having a big nose,’ she said.
‘I’d thought about getting a facelift since I was 21, it’s not something I considered lightly. Obviously I don’t need a facelift, but I wanted that cat eye, Bella Hadid look.
‘Doctors advised me against it, but I finally had the funds to do it, so I thought “why not?” I know it’s going to make me happy.’
‘I didn’t tell my parents about it. I didn’t want them to worry, especially with me going abroad,’ she added.
Antonia Higham (pictured before her face lift), 28, first started getting cosmetic procedures when she was 18 and quickly became ‘addicted’ to getting filler
Pictured: Antonia after getting her £9,000 face lift in a bid to achieve a ‘Bella Hadid look’
In March 2026, Antonia jetted off to Turkey and splashed out £9,000 on a facelift and lip lift to mimic the ‘cat-eye’ look of supermodel Bella Hadid, despite doctors advising her against the procedure
While she was stared at in the street, and trolls called her an ‘alien’, Antonia, a drama school student from London, said she is so far happy with the results of the surgery
Reflecting on how she felt immediately after the surgery, Antonia said: ‘I looked like something from another planet when I first woke up.
‘My eyes were swollen so much that I couldn’t really see. My mother called me crying after seeing pictures of how extreme it looked.
‘She’s a bit more relaxed about it now that she’s seen how the swelling has gone down.’
Following the procedure, Antonia wore tape on her face for the first few weeks, and was subject to cruel comments from strangers online.
‘For the first few weeks I had to wear tape on my face, people looked at me like they’d never seen a human before,’ she said.
Yet the drama student was no stranger to surgeries – having first had lip filler at the age of 18 and in college.
‘It was a trend with Kylie Jenner’s lip kit coming out, I think I was quite influenced by that,’ she said.
Over the next few years, Antonia said she became ‘addicted’ to getting more and more filler in her lips and cheeks, but ended up getting it all dissolved aged 21, after it migrated to different areas of her face.
‘It made me look worse than before, my face was saggy,’ she said.
Following the procedure, Antonia (pictured afterwards) wore tape on her face for the first few weeks, and was subject to cruel comments from strangers online
Antonia (pictured before the face lift) said she became ‘addicted’ to getting more and more filler in her lips and cheeks, but ended up getting it all dissolved aged 21, after it migrated to different areas of her face
‘Doctors advised me against it, but I finally had the funds to do it, so I thought “why not?” I know it’s going to make me happy,’ she said
Pictured: Antonia just before her surgery. The 28-year-old chose not to tell her parents about her decision to go ahead with the procedure
In the same year, Antonia decided to get a £9,500 nose job, after being bullied at school for having a ‘big nose’.
Then, from the age of 22, Antonia began getting Botox in her forehead, initially just to help ease her migraines.
In 2025, Antonia had an £8,000 breast augmentation, aged 27, and in March 2026, she had her latest procedure, a facelift and lip lift.
Since the age of 21, Antonia had planned to get the procedure, as she was keen to get a ‘cat eye’ look, akin to model Bella Hadid.
She said she doesn’t have body image issues, but instead just wanted to maintain a youthful look.
Explaining why she opted to have the surgery abroad, Antonia said: ‘I didn’t decide to go to Turkey because it’s cheaper than the UK.
‘I’d heard really good things about the doctors, and the techniques they use are so advanced.
‘The surgeon said he’d rather do it for me in a safe environment, than me going elsewhere,’ she said.
Antonia said that the four-hour procedure wasn’t painful, but was incredibly uncomfortable, as her whole face swelled up afterwards and left her unable to see.
For the first week after her surgery, Antonia could hardly move out of bed and had to get her friend to help her with her medication, and cleaning her scars.
However, after the first week, she revealed she was back to her normal self, except for feeling a little tired.
Her recovery is expected to take around three months, but she could have swelling for up to a year.
Antonia is happy with her results so far, but has had some cruel comments from trolls, after posting about her facelift journey on her TikTok account @antoniahigham.
However, she just ignores these comments, as she is comfortable with her decision.
For now, however, Antonia has no plans to have any further surgeries, as she just wants to enjoy her life, without being in recovery.
